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Talking With Your Doctor About Pharmaceutical Company Payments

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ProPublica's Dollars for Docs database lets people search for payments to healthcare professionals made by 15 pharmaceutical companies, which account for about 47 percent of U.S. drug sales. The database includes the following payment record:

Payee: SYNERGY CLINICAL RESEARCH

Amount paid: $5,367

Company paying: AstraZeneca

Payment for: Research

Location: Escondido, Calif.

Reported: April to Dec. 2011 Research

Send this link to your doctor

If your doctor would like a link to this payment information in our database, send them to .

Important notes

Research payments are distinct from speaking and consulting. Payments for clinical studies may include costs associated with patient care, supplies, as well as the time spent by health care professionals treating patients and managing the study. The figure listed does not reflect the actual compensation received by the physician listed as the principal investigator.

ProPublica last downloaded this record on Feb. 15, 2013, and includes the name of the health provider who performed the service and, when reported, the entity paid. They may be different.

Things to keep in mind before speaking to your doctor

Many healthcare professionals in our database have similar names, so you should start by asking your doctor if the person mentioned in this payment record is really him/her.

Pharmaceutical companies make payments for many reasons, from research to speaking to consulting. They payments are legal, but studies show they can influence a doctor's prescribing decisions.

Your doctor may not know he or she is listed in Dollars for Docs, especially if the payments are small.

Questions to Ask

Questions you might want to ask your healthcare professional

What are the specific circumstances of this payment?

What is your current relationship with this drug company?

What drugs have you prescribed me that are manufactured by companies you've taken payments from?

Are there non-drug alternatives that I may want to consider first?

Are there less expensive generic alternatives to the drugs you have prescribed?

For additional information on AstraZeneca's notable drugs

AstraZeneca provides a list of all of its drugs at http://www.astrazeneca-us.com/medicines/astrazeneca-medications. To read how AstraZeneca describes its relationship with healthcare professionals, read more at: http://www.astrazeneca-us.com/responsibility/corporate-transparency/physician-engagement.